Glossary of Art and Antique terms

• Rail: A strong horizontal member of a furniture piece.



• Rattan: A thick vine utilized as material cut into strips for wicker or larger shapes are bent in making casual furniture.



• realism: Representational painting which depicts forms and images as they actually are, without idealizing.



• Récamier: An elegant daybed, sofa or chaise popular in the Empire and Victorian eras, named after Madame Récamier of Parisian society in the early 1800's. Sometimes called fainting couches, Récamiers are shaped like a Roman reclining couch with a sloping-back headboard at one end rising to meet a high and often rolled arm, and shorter curved footboard on the other end not much higher than the seat.



• Red Gum: A fine-grained wood often stained to resemble mahogany or walnut.



• Redwood: A highly durable wood valued for its strength and ease in woodworking. Redwood is highly resistant to decay and weathers to an appealing patina; qualities popular for outdoor furniture.



• Reeding: A series of ornamental bead moldings set together in parallel lines, which run the length of the post or leg.



• Régence Style: When France was ruled by a regent, between Louis XIV in 1715 and Louis XV in 1723, this furniture style was a comparable transition from heavy, straight lines to lighter, graceful curves. during the transition



• Regency Style: British Neoclassical furniture style popular during the first half of the 19th century so named for the Prince of Wales, who ruled as regent from 1811 to 1820 because of his father King George III's insanity. Occurring simultaneous with Directoire and Empire styles in France, the Regency Style inspired Adaptations and reproductions of Greek and Roman furniture, such as the Klismos chair.



• Refectory Table: A narrow, long table first used in the dining-hall of religious orders.



• Relief: Raised, sculptural carving elements.



• rubbing: A technique of rubbing a pigment onto material placed over a textured surface to replicate that texture into as an image (See also: frottage).



• Reproduction: New furniture created as an authentic copy of an antique.



• Restorations: Antiques and collectibles that are brought back to original conditions through careful reconstruction, recreation of missing parts and refinishing in the same patinas.



• Return: The part of an L-shaped desk that is at a right angle to the main desk, allowing more working surface.



• Rice Carved Posters: Style originating in the Carolinas and northern Georgia of heavy, tall bedposts carved with such motifs as rice and tobacco plants symbolizing a plantation owners wealth.



• Rococo Style: Widespread 18th-century European furniture design style, originating from the Régence style in early 18th century France. Made of rich woods, the Rococo Style was an elaborate, daintier and more refined version of earlier Baroque styles that was noted for ornate, and asymmetrical designs with versions of shells, elaborate scrollwork and dripping water used during the Louis XIV and XV periods.



• Rococo Revival: An Victorian style popular from the 1850s -1870s, best known for excessively ornamented, elaborately carved rosewood parlor furniture, balloon-backed chairs and Camelback (triple-crested) sofas.



• Roll Top Desk: A writing desk with a curved, slatted panel that rolls down to cover its surface.



• Rosette: A circular ornamentation button, often carved to resemble a rose like flower often used on 'broken piedmonts'.



• Rosewood, Brazilian: Dark red-brown to deep-purple wood with distinctive black graining. Commonly used on guitar fret boards, furniture and boxes.



• Rubbed finish: A finish hand-polished with abrasives and lubricants for a master surface and reduced sheen.



• Rule joint: A quarter-round wood joint molded between a drop leaf and table top, leaving minimal space when the leaf is set down.



• Runner: The long, curved rocker element of a rocking chair. Also A long narrow carpet



• Rush Seat Chair: A rustic American or French chair with seats woven of twisted rushes (see also: caning).



• Rustic: Simple style typical of rural country crafting.

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